The present invention relates generally to puller tools for removing internal bearings, bushings, sleeves and the like, and more particularly to a puller tool useful in removing the aforementioned items from a blind hole.
A widely recognized difficulty in the servicing of precision spindles is the removal of tapered roller bearings from deep within a blind hole. Removal is problematic because, while an inner roller portion of the bearing is often easily extracted, an outer sleeve of the bearing remains lodged within the hole in close circumferential fit and with a distal annular face thereof flush against a bottom seat surface of the hole. A similar problem is encountered in other service industries, for example in the automotive repair industry, where bearings must be removed from wheel/brake housings.
A variety of puller tools have been developed for extracting internally seated bearings and like items having an axial bore or opening extending between opposite annular faces thereof. A first type of puller tool is generally characterized by means insertable within the bore or opening for engaging an inner wall of the item, or for engaging a specially formed recess, hole, or step in the inner wall. Examples of this first type of puller tool may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,110,886; 2,662,276; and 2,380,068. A second type of puller tool is generally characterized by means insertable through the bore or opening for engaging a distal annular face of the item. Examples of this second type of puller tool are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,251,368; 5,058,255; 3,945,104; and 3,083,449.
Prior art puller tools of the first type mentioned above have the disadvantage that they usually require a specially formed step or hole in the inner wall of the item to be extracted for engagement by the puller tool, because the distal annular face of the item is not engaged. If the puller tool is designed to directly engage the inner wall, damage to the inner wall may occur, a result which is not acceptable in expensive, high-precision bearings. Prior art puller tools of the second type require clearance adjacent the distal annular face of the item to permit engagement of the face by the puller tool. Consequently, where the item is seated within a blind hole with its distal annular face flush against a bottom or seat surface of the hole, puller tools of the second type are ineffective.